For predicting a wide range of weather phenomena, a state in the future is derived from an already past state and the current state of the atmosphere while applying known physical and meteorological rules.
The state of the atmosphere is expressed by different physical quantities, such as temperature and humidity.
Weather balloons are known to be used for the measurement of different physical quantities at different altitudes above the ground.
A weather balloon is a lift-producing balloon which transports meteorological measuring devices. If the weather balloon is started on the ground, it rises and, during the ascent, measures one or several altitude-dependent (location-dependent) physical quantities by means of the meteorological measuring devices.
The measured physical quantities are recorded and/or transmitted to a ground station via a radio interface.
The rising speed of such a weather balloon depends on the respective environmental conditions (altitude, air temperature, air pressure) as well as on the physical properties of the weather balloon (density of the filling gas, ductility of the balloon skin, weight of the weather balloon). The rising direction basically depends on air currents (winds).
When the weather balloon reaches a specific altitude, the balloon bursts, the measurements end, and the measuring devices fall to the ground in a decelerated or non-decelerated manner.
In the course of the described measurement, so-called first-type thermometer errors occur.
For example, a measuring device (e.g. a thermometer) detects an external temperature. As sensors (e.g. measuring devices) usually show a reaction time in order to react to changes in the actually existing physical quantities, the values measured by means of such a weather balloon are smeared when the air mass is flown through. In particular, while the weather balloon, or rather the measuring devices of the weather balloon are already in another (higher) air layer, the temperature of an already passed through (lower) air layer has an effect on the measurement result of the measuring devices in the higher air layer. This measurement delay, which assigns a physical value at a first location to a measurement at a second location, is called “first-type thermometer error”.
Hence, the series of measurements made by such a weather balloon for different altitudes (locations) passed through at least contains this first-type thermometer error.
However, measurement data which are as precise as possible are required to allow weather predictions which are as precise as possible.
The invention indicated in claim 1 starts out from the problem of eliminating or lessening first-type thermometer errors so as to enable measurement data that are more exact than those obtainable according to the known prior art.